Mining-machine skid



May 31, 1927.

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 15, 1923 Wilkes? MINING MACHINE SKID F11 edJuly 13 192:

v NM wm mm Q E. J. DOBERSTEIN May 31, 1927.

y E. J. DOBERSTEIN MINING MACHINE SKID Filed July 13. 1923 5Sheets-Sheet 3 E. J. DOBERSTEIN MINING MACHINE SKID Filed July 1:5, 1923May 31, 1927.

y v E. J.,DOBERSTE|N MINING MACHINE SKID Fi-lgd July 15. 1923 5'Sheets-Sheet 5 W a I m" Patented May 31, 1927.

EDVARD J. DOBERSTEIN, OF BLUE ISLAND, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNQR TO GOODMAN,MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, CORPORATION OF,ILLINOIS.

MINIlIG-MACHINE SKID.

Application filed July 13, 1923. Serial No. 651,290.

This invention relates to transportation devices for mining machinesan'd'rhas tor its principal object to provide auxiliary draft means fortransporting; an undercutting machine from place to place alongfthe minefloor for greater distances orat a higher rate of speed than isordinarily practicable' w th ma chines of this character.

More specifically, my invention is adapted, particularly for use inconnection with 'a' continuous cutting or shortwall type of miningmachine used primarily tor undercutting coal inthe room and pillarsystem of mining, and consists in providinga supportinc skid carrying anauxiliarv winding drum and draft cable thereon, adapted to be de-ftransporting a cutting mechanism intermediate cutting places I along theground is commonly referred to as flitting in some localitieFurthermore, the cutting mecha: nism and auxiliary skid may bemounted-and carried bodily upon a wheeled mining machine truck, thelatter also having power connections with the mining machine motor,whereby the entire apparatus may be transported along mine tracks in theusual manner, where tracks are available. c

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention will appearfrom time to time as the following description proceeds T he inventionmay be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawingsillustral'ing one form in whicn'my invention mav be embodied:

these drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view ofa cutting appa- 4- Sill? 1 1 i twall type, andan auxiliary transport- 11. device constructed in accordance with myinvention, both being mounted upon a min- 1 machine truclc Figure 2 is'aside view of the apparatus in Figurc'l, with parts cut away to ofgearing ot the cutting appaincluding a cutting mechanism ot'hthe- Figure3 is a plan view of the transporting unit forming an" important part at,my present invention.

Figure dis a longitudinal line 44 of Figure 3. i

-Figure 5 is a transverse line 55 'ofFigure 3;

Figure 6-is a transverse line 6 6 of Figure 4t.

Figure 7 isa transverse section taken on line 7'7 of Figure 4. i a

Figure Sis an enlarged detail of cablegretaining sheaves shown in Figure7.

Figure Sis a diagram illustrating a typical method in which my improvedapparatus may be utilized in the r'ooniand pillar system of mining.

For the purpose of illustration, my invention is shown as applied to acutting mecha nism 1O ot'the shortwall type, and a wheeled truck 11,ofthe type usually employed for supporting and carrying such cuttingmechanisms, excepting when withdrawn there. from for slidingmoveii entalong the mine floordu'ring actual cutting operations. Cuttingmechanisms and machine trucks of the type mentioned may vary widelyinconstruc tion, butusually have certaincommon charact'eristi'cs. Forinstance, the cuttiiigniechanism' 10 is provided with a shoe '12 uponwhich the cutting mechanism is mounted for section takenon section takenon section taken on sliding movement on the mine bottom'during thecutting operations. The cutting mechanism is turther provided with acutting element, as tor example, a' cutterbar 13 of the ordinary typehaving an endless cutter chain (not shown) movable thereabout Themachine controlled and fed to the Work by means of flexible draft IODesl t and 15, wound respectively on drums to and 17. The cutting andfeeding mechanisms are driven by a motor 18, one or both-of the drums 16and 17 having driving engagen' ent with said motor, as desired,Detailsjot' t-he power gearnig'on the cutting mechan sm need not bedescribed in detail, exceptin to point out by way of illustration themechanism whereby the motor l8 may be detach.- ablyi connected foroperatingthe auxiliary draft device carried the supporting skid andalsoto'torm driving connection with the truck. The power connectionscarried by the body. of the cutting mechanism 10 may The construction ofthe supporting skid indicated generally by the numeral will now bedescribed. Said skid is designed to receive andsupport the cuttingmechanism 10 and to this end comprises an elongated body portion orframe 26 preferably provided with lateral flanges'or guides '27, 27,extending upwardly so as to receive the bottom plate 12 of the cuttingmechanism therebetween. The front end of the frame 26 isopen, theflanges 27, 27 being flared outwardly, so that the cutting 'mechanism 10may be readily loaded thereon. .An apron 28 is connected to the frontend of said frame in position to be dropped into engagement with theground at its forward edge, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 4, to,facilitate the loading of the cut-ting mechanism thereon. has hingedconnection with the frame 26 by means of a pair of downwardly extend ingflanges 29, 29,. extending through slots 30, 30, and having stop members31,31 securing said flanges in place, but permitting the apron limitedvertical pivotal movement as desired.

It will be understood that when in operation the supporting skid 25together with the cutting mechanism 10 are" adapted to be unloadedbodily from the mining machine truck 11, to be slid universally over themine floor, and particularly for flitting from one cutting place to thenext; In the form shown, the skid is provided with a pair of runners 35,35, extending longitudi-' nally along opposite sides of and underneaththe frame 26. ,These runners are rigid with respect to the frame 26,being connected thereto by any suitable means, such as welding orriveting.

The auxiliary draftdevice ismounted at the rear endof the skid andcomprises a In the form shown this apron 28' been indicated inconnection with the foregoing description of the cutting mechanism, theshaft 21 is connected with a socket 20 on the rear end of the powerdriven shaft 19 operatively connected with the motor 18. The shaft 21has a squared portion 48 intermediate its ends, fitting within a wormgear 49. Said worm gear is journalled in the central bracket 43 and ismeshed with a worm wheel 50, also journalled in bracket 43, as bestshown in Figure 5. The worm wheel 50 is keyed on a hollow shaft 51loosely mounted for rotation on the shaft'41, and having a clutch member52 at one end thereof adapted for detachable engagement with In the forma co-acting clutch member 53. shown the co-acting clutch members 52 and58 are of the cone type, but it will be understood that any othersuitable clutch device may be provided, as desired. The clutch member 53is feathered on the shaft 41 so as to provide a driving connection fordrum windingdrum 40. In the form shown this,

drum is carried on ahorizontally disposed shaft 41, extendingtransversely of the skid and suitably supported on brackets 42, 42

at the sides of the frame, and a bracket 43 disposed centrally of theframe. This windingjdrum maybe of relatively large proportions, so as tocarry a draft cable 45 much longer than eitherof the draft cables 14 or15, heretoforeidescribed as being 'part of thefeeding mechanism of thecutting appa-' 40,- keyed on the opposite end of said shaft. From theabove description, it will now be clear that the cutting mechanism 10may be loaded upon the suporting skid 25 in position to form anoperative connection between the cutting mechanism motor 18 and thewinding drum 40. The cutting mechanism is preferably loaded upon theskid when the latter is resting upon the ground, as'in dicated in Figure4. In this position, the outer end of the apron 28 at the front end ofthe skid is dropped into engagement with the ground, as'shown in dottedlines. A pair of longitudinal extending support plates 55, 55, areprovided along opposite sides of and above the frame 26, along whichplates the bed frame or shoe 12 of the cutting mechanism is'adapted toslide, A pair of stops 56, 56 are secured to the frame 26 to limit therearward movement of the cutting mechanism 10 respective to the skid atthe proper position to form an operative connection between the cuttingmechanism and the drum 40, carried by the skid, as shown in Figures 1and 2.

The rear end 60 of the shaft 21 extends rearwardly beyond the support 43of the skid in position to be detachably engaged by a driving shaft 61carried by the mining machine truck 11.. The shaft 61 is operativelyconnected to the supporting wheels 62, 62 of the truck by any suitablemechanism, as for instance, a worm gear 63 and worm 64, the lattermounted on a transverse shaft 65 having sprocket 66 thereon. Adrive-chain 67 is trained over sprocket 66 and a'sprocket 68 secured inthe usualmanner to the rear'truclk: wheel 62. I

i In connection'with the improved supporting skid and auxiliary draftmechanism forming apart of the present invent-ion, I provide meanswhereby cable 45 "carried "thereby may be extended either forwardly orrearwardly of the cutting mechanism and skid when the latter arecooperatively engaged for movement along the mine floor. This meanscomprises suitable guides mounted on'the skid about which the draftcable 45 may be trained. In the form shown said draft cable may beextended for wardly ofthe apron by means of a sheave carried on thefloor f the skid and immedi ately in front of the drum Said sheave ispreferably mounted upon an inclined axis, as shown in Figure at, inpositionto permit the rope 45 to be passed thereabout and thencelaterally about a vertically disposed sheave 71, disposed centrally ofthe frame 26. The central portionofthe frame 26 between plates '55, 55,is preferably open, as indicated at 73, so as to permit the rope 45 topass freely underneath the bottom shoe 1230f the cutting mechanism whenit is mounted on the skid. A pair of oppositely disposed sheaves 72, 72,are mounted on a bracket 7 7 extending across the opening 73 at theforward end of the skid, these latter sheaves being arranged below thetop surface'of and between the plates 55, 55, upon which the bottomplate 12 of the cut ting mechanism rests. The free end of the rope maythus pass beneath the apron 28 where it may be anchored in advance ofthe skid and cutting mechanism to pull the enthe mechanism bodily in adirection longitudinally of the cutting mechanism and cutter bar. Y p

In order to assure proper alignment of the draft rope 45 when extendedunderneath the cutting mechanism, as described, the oppositely disposedsheaves 72, 7 2, at the forward end of the pan are arranged with theirperipheries sufliciently close to each 'otherto retain said draft ropetherebetween. The sheaves are normally retained in place by suitablemeans, such as retaining pins 75, 75,, extending through the respectivestuds 76,

76, upon which said sheaves are nounted' and journalled in the bracket71 It will-be seen that when the cutting mechanism is unloaded from theskid, the pins 75, 75 may be removed so as to permit the sheaves 72, 72to be withdrawn and thus release the cable 4L5. v v I Suitable guidedevices are also provided to permit the cable 45to'loe extendedtowardthe rear of the apparatus, as for instance by a sheave mounted on aninclined axis behind the drum, and a co-acting sheave 81 disposedcentrally of' the skid and about which the cable 45 may be trained,asindicated in dotted lines in Figure 8. v

The use and advantages of the device abovede crib-ed are as follows Whenthe supporting skid 25 is on the mine flooras shown in Figure i, thecutting mechanism may be loaded thereon by means of the draft cables 14:or lfcarried on the machine and operated in the usualmanner' underpower of the machine motor 18, The apron'28of'the 'skidis dropped intoposition anism is drawn rearwardlyuntil the rear end of the shoe 12engages the'stopl'ti on the skid; In this position the motor is stopped,and the tongue 21 of driving shaft 21 is fitted in the socket 20,carried by the cutting mechanisml When loaded on the supporting skid inthe position shown in Eigure 1, the apron 28 will' be raised intohorizontal position, owing "to "the "pressure of the forward portion ofthe shoe 152, which maintains said airon in a horizontal posi tioninalignment with the supporting strips 55, 55. The cuttinginechanisn'i'may be then looked from endwise movement respectii e to theskid by insertinga'lockingpiii 85 through the side flange 2? of the skidand the underfranie 86 of: the cutting mechanism, 'lhecutting mechanism,and skid are then, in position to be moved or flitted along the minefloor, and for this purpose the draft rope etam'ay be trained eitherforwardly over sheaves 70, 71 and 72' or 1'ea1rw:;u'dly over sheaves 80and 81. The cutting mech- J00 anism maybe unloaded from the skid by'thereverse of the loading operation described. The drive gearing for thedrum iOis such as to wind the draft rope' laat a considerably higherspeed than that usually provided fcrby feeding drums '16 CF17 on thecutting mechanism during the usual cutting operation and movement 'ofthemachineacb jacent the working face." This greater flitting speed hasbeen foundhighly desirable under most conditions. In, thepresentinstance, the higher tiitt' speed is allor ded without addingany]mechanism to the body of the cutting mechanism, such as'mightmaterially affect its usefulness byincreasing its dimensions: or weightThe present ar'- rangement provides this additional gearing in the" formof a detachable unit, which-is brought into operationjonly" whenrequired, for flitting, after the cutting mechanism has been w-ithdawnfrom its cutting operations at the face." It will be further noted thatit is possible toprovide a winding drum having a much larger capacity,for flitting over much greater (d stances than would be practicable ifapplied directly to the; cutting mechanism, "it being understood that inmachines of theishortwall or con itinuons cutter type it is desirable tolimit the' siz e of the winding drum as near p0ssible to the actualrequirements for cutting across a relatively short working face, say 30to 50 feet. On the other hand, it is usually necessary to flit themachine much greater distances, as for instance, the entire length of amine room, ranging from 100 to 300 or more feet in length, asillustrated'in Figure 9. In this diagram the mine tracks 90, 9 are notextended into the room 91, so

skid between the point of unloading at the room entrance 92 and theworking face 93, where it is in turn. unloaded from the skid to performits cutting operations in the usual manner.

It will be further understood that the supporting skid 25'may be usedfor flitting between c'utting places without a wheeled truck, for undersome conditions it has been found entirely impracticable to use a truckof any description, especially in some mines where no tracks areavailable, and in other conditions where the overhead clearance is notsufficient to permit the use of a wheeled truck. In extremes of thelatter conditions, it will be obvious that the overall height of theentire cutting mechanism and skid truck may be reduced to a minimum byreducing the height of the runners 35, on'the'bottom of the skid.

Although I have shown and described one form in which my invention maybe em-, bodied, it will be understood that the con-. struction andarrangement of the parts may be Varied without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. I do not therefore, wish to be understood aslimiting myself to the specific construction illustrated herein,excepting as specifically limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention;

1. In combination with a draft operated cutting element, adapted formovement along the mine floor, a supporting skid, and auxiliary windingdevices on said skid located within prolongations of. the longitudinalboundaries of said cutting element.

2.' In combination with a cutting mechanism having power devicesthereon, an auxiliary winding device bodily detachable from andconnectible with said power devices at one end of said cutting mechanismwithin prolongations of the longitudinal boundaries of the latter. 7

3; In combination with a cutting mechanism, having flexible draftfeeding means and an actuator for operating the came, an auxiliarywinding device bodily detachable fromv and connectable with said cuttingmechanism and having geared connection with sai olactuatorindependentofsaid feeding means to drive said auxiliary draft means at agreater rate of speed than said feeding devices on the cuttingmechanism.

4.. In combination with a cutting mechanism having flexible draftfeeding means ineluding a winding drum, an auxiliary winding deviceincluding a winding drum of greater capacity than the feeding drum onthe cutting mechanism, and means detachably connecting said auxiliarydraft device bodily with said cutting mechanism within the prolongationsof the longitudinal boundaries ofthe latter.

5. The combination with a cutting mechanism having flexible feedingdevices for moving the same universally over the mine floor during thecutting operation, and pr0- vided with an actuator, of a supporting skidupon which said cutting mechanism may be carried, having auxiliaryflexible, draft means thereon, detachably connectible with saidactuator.

6. The combination with a cutting mechanism having flexible feeding.devices for moving the same universally over the mine floor during thecutting operation, and provided with an actuator, of a supporting skidupon which said cutting mechanism may be carried, having auxiliaryflexible draft means thereon detachably connectible with said actuator,andguide devices on said skid about which the auxiliary flexible draftmeans may be trained longitudinally of the skid in either direction.

7 In j combination with a cutting mechanismhaving an actuator'thereon, awheeled truck for said cutting mechanism, a skid upon which the cuttingmechanism. may be mounted in interposed relation between said mechanismand said truck, a power device on said skid including an auxiliaryflexible draft device, detachable power connections between saidactuator and said power devices, and other detachable power connectionsbetween said power device and the truck wheels. 7 v I r 8. Incombination with a cutting mechanism havingan actuator thereon, awheeled truck for said cutting mechanism, a skid upon which the cuttingmechanism may be mounted in interposed relation between said mechanismand said truck, a power device on said skid including an auxiliaryflexible draft device, d'et'achable power connections between saidactuator and said power dey vices, other detachable power connectionsbetween said power deviceand the truck wheels, and-aclutch interposedbetween said power device'on said skid and the auxiliary draft means,wherebythe latter may be disconnected and the mining machinetruckbecluding a winding drum, a skid upon which said cutting mechanism may bemounted, an actuator for said Winding drum, an auxiliary draft device onsaid skid including a Winding drum of greater capacity than the feedingdrum on the cutting mechanism, means detachably connecting saidauxiliary draft device and said cutting mechanism,

and detachable speed reducing gearing connections between said auxiliaryWinding drum and said actuator.

Signed at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 9thday of July,

EDWARD J. DOBERSTEIN.

